BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – UFC middleweight Rafael Natal‘s fights haven’t always been the most technically precise affairs. But what they’ve lacked in skill, they’ve often made up for in excitement.

In Natal’s eyes, a three-fight winning streak is enough to earn him a top-10 middleweight opponent in his next bout. If the UFC has something else in mind, however, he’ll continue to push forward.

“I think I’m getting there very slowly and going slowly around the corners,” Natal (17-4-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) said following his unanimous-decision win over Tor Troeng (16-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on the FOX Sports 1-televised main card of Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 28 event. “The UFC had already told me that I had to do a knockout and a submission, and that didn’t happen again today.

“But my fights have been good fights. My opponents have been strong people who have made a good victory for me. So today, this was a three-round fight and the best fight of the night.”

Natal, a jiu-jitsu based fighter who recently began working with noted MMA boxing trainer Mark Henry, won a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus after 15 minutes of back-and-forth action with “The Ultimate Fighter 17” vet.

Several times, Natal appeared to be on the brink of a stoppage finish – first by knockout, and then by submission. Troeng, however, showed remarkable resiliency in staying in the fight.

Following a series of lackluster decisions early on the card, the bout was a breath of fresh air to the crowd at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. They cheered often and loud for the middleweights.

In eight UFC appearances, Natal has gone the distance six times, finished one opponent via submission, and been knocked out by a vicious head kick. None of his past three opponents was ranked at the time he fought them.

Despite the recent quality of his opposition, Natal isn’t worried about his career’s trajectory.

“So once again, we show that we have a lot of quality to be there at the top, and let’s go up slowly, step by step,” he said. “If they don’t want to give me a top-10 opponent, it will be next time. We have time to wait. I’m very young.

“I started to work with Mark (Henry), and I’ve evolved a lot. I think things are coming at a very right time in my life, and if it’s going to be like this, we’ll just wait to be at the top. When I get to the top to fight against a top-10 (opponent), I want to be ready.”

Now, he just has to be ready for another reality – taxes.

“Does anyone know if they’re going to charge a tax on the bonus of the night?” Natal asked reporters at the tail end of the post-event press conference. “They’re not going to take another tax cut. … I hope not.”

Francis Ngannou further legitimized himself as a future UFC heavyweight contender on Saturday when he scored a first-round submission victory of Anthony Hamilton in the UFC Fight Night 102 co-main event. See how social media reacted.

ALBANY, N.Y. – Francis Ngannou came into his bout against Anthony Hamilton as the biggest favorite on the fight card, but it likely wasn’t due to his submission skills. Yet the knockout artist Ngannou managed to show some new tricks when he slapped a kimura lock (…)